Quince Stew (Chorosht'e Be)

My mother-in-law makes this stew almost every Shabbat because it is my sister-in-law's favorite! Whenever I buy quinces, I have to hide them because my children love to eat them raw! This fruit is not really meant to be eaten raw…it is meant for jams and stews. I guess my kids must be "hard-core" Persians!

The quince tree originates from Iran and Caucasus. The Romans used its oil for perfume, while the Greeks enjoyed it cooked.

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Ingredients

2 quinces, do not peel; just slice like an apple (make sure to remove the entire core)

1/4 cup lime or lemon juice or the juice of 3 limes

3/4 cup pitted prunes

2 potatoes, peeled and cut into medium dice

Preparation

1. In a 6-quart saucepan, sauté the onion and garlic in olive oil until the onion starts to become translucent (about 1 minute). Add the meat; cover and cook until meat no longer looks red, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper.

Make sure to remove the entire core of this fruit, since any remainder will cook along and harden like a rock in the inner layer of the fruit! Since quinces are often hard to find, the second I find some I buy many and freeze them already sliced in separate bags so I can use them as needed. Lamb or veal are also delicious in this recipe, or make it vegetarian-friendly by using seitan (wheat "meat") instead.
By the way, most Persian stews freeze really well, but don't freeze this one, because it has potatoes and potatoes don't like the freezer!

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Reviews

This was amazing and I think it would be fine for picky eaters! I cooked this in an enameled cast iron dutch oven. I don't like to brown my meat with onions, so first I seared the beef stew chunks in oil and transferred them to a plate. Then I cooked the onions, and the liquid they gave off deglazed the pot. Lots of flavor there! I added the beef and its accumulated juices with the water and remaining ingredients. After serving, we cut the beef chunks (which were large) into smaller pieces to soak up all the juices. The quince was similar to a pear in flavor, but mild. The simple sweet-and-sour combo of flavors reminded me of tomato based stuffed cabbage sauce. So good!

Maybe the best beef stew I have ever made. But, I went off recipe, used beef shanks instead of stew meat. Cutting the meat from the bones, I then browned the bones first, rendering the fat from marrow and then browning the cut up meat in the marrow instead of in olive oil. The original recipe does not call for browning the meat and I really think this dish would suffer without that step regardless. My version is so delicious that I can't wait to do it again.